The Story of the Toaster: A History Lesson.

Before the development of the modern electric toaster we see today, toast was usually made in iron cages that were suspended over fires. People also used long knives and sticks, much like the way marsmallows are toasted today.

In 1905, an irishman named Connor Neeson and his employer, William Hoskins, invented a type of alloy, later called chromel, and used it to make high-resistance wire to be used in heating appliances. Chromel, now known as nichrome, is still used in many appliances today.

The first electric toaster was invented by Maddy Kennedy in 1872. Earlier attempts to use iron wiring were unsuccesful, due to the fact that the iron melted quickly and posed a fire hazard. Chromel was later introduced as a replacement for the iron wires.

The Automatic Pop-up toaster was invented by Charles Strite in 1919. Another noteworthy milestone in toast history, Wonder Bread was first introduced in this year.

Today, toasters have taken the leap into the digital age. There are toasters that tell the weather, regulate temperature, even ones that be plugged into computers and toasts wherever you want to.